GeoLearning CEO Finalist For Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Award

April 27, 2005

Congratulations go today to GeoLearning's CEO Frank Russell, selected as a finalist for the very prestigious 2005 Ernst & Young Enterpreneur of the Year Award. GeoLearning, which produces products and services in the hosted e-learning and training environments, as grown more than 400 percent in the previous four years, a testament to both company quality and the explosion in popularity of the e-learning and interactive training methods as opposed to traditional, dry classroom training for call center professionals.

TES

Frank Russell, president and CEO of GeoLearning, Inc., has been named a finalist for the 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Now in its 19th year, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program is the world’s most prestigious business award and continues the tradition of recognizing entrepreneurial excellence. Winners in the 31 regions across the U.S. will be announced at regional awards celebrations during the month of June, and will then vie for the national awards, to be presented at a black-tie gala in Palm Springs in November.

Under Russell’s direction, GeoLearning has grown to be the leading provider of hosted learning management platforms and training services to corporations and government agencies around the world. The company has grown more than 400% over the past four years, boasting an average annual growth rate of 100.4%. More than 375 companies and government agencies—including high-profile brand names like Dell, Costco Wholesale, Ticketmaster and Nike—have deployed GeoLearning’s Internet-based learning management platform, and rely on its learning services to drive employee and organizational performance.

Russell will compete at the Ernst & Young Central Midwest regional awards program on June 23 in Kansas City, MO. Winners from the 31 regions across the U.S. will then vie at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year national program to be held at J.W. Marriott’s Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, CA on November 17-20.

“The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is the world’s most prestigious business award. Just being considered is a gratifying achievement,” said Russell. “But mostly it is a testament to the hard work and dedication of many people, including my wife and executive vice president of the company, Linda. And both of us know that GeoLearning’s tremendous success is really a result of the entire GeoLearning team. As entrepreneurs, one of the most important things we’ve done is hire sharp people and let them do what they do well. Doing that has allowed us to drive the organization’s direction and really focus on strategically growing the company.”

GeoLearning’s successful strategy has been recognized several times of late. Last month, Russell was named Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Iowa by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The company ranked #367 on the Inc. 500 list of “America’s fastest-growing private companies” in 2004, and was named among the top 200 technology businesses in North America by Red Herring Magazine. GeoLearning was also named to TrainingOutsourcing.com’s list of the "Top 20 Companies in the Training Outsourcing Industry." Selection to the list was based on experience in managing multi-year engagements, commitment to training business process outsourcing services, recognition as a leading outsourcing service provider in the training industry, range of capabilities, and talent level of staff.

Customer sentiment about GeoLearning is just as glowing. Most recently, the company solidified its position as the top-rated enterprise learning management system company with findings from Bersin & Associates’ LMS Customer Satisfaction Study 2005: An Industry Analysis of the Customer Experience with Learning Management Systems. This comprehensive study identified GeoLearning as the customer satisfaction leader or co-leader in 20 of 26 measures in the enterprise LMS category.

About GeoLearning, Inc. GeoLearning is the leading provider of Managed Learning Services and hosted learning platforms, having been chosen by more than 350 organizations around the world to manage learning and development. Named to the 2004 Inc. 500, GeoLearning is one of the fastest growing private companies in America. The company’s GeoMaestro™ and GeoExpress™ learning management platforms offer robust registration, tracking and reporting functionality crucial for managing enterprise-wide learning, development and knowledge acquisition. With no hardware or software to install, GeoLearning’s ASP-hosted platforms can be deployed quickly, allowing clients to efficiently manage human capital development, accelerate critical business processes, and drive organizational performance. Additional information is available at www.geolearning.com.

About the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards ProgramThe Entrepreneur of the Year awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 100 cities and 35 countries.

About Ernst & YoungErnst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 100,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on its core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax and transactions. Ernst & Young practices also provide law services in some parts of the world where permitted. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organization.